Racism Can Play in Peoria. What About Your Local Wrestling?

October 30, 2020.

This blog post was originally posted in July of 2015. It was written in response to how I was told that the likelihood of being booked for the Midwest Impact Pro promotion in Peoria was doubtful. The reasoning was, after the Charlottesville Historic Black Church Mass Shooting by a white supremacist, I used social media to call on them to quit promoting babyfaces who took pride in the Confederate flag. One of these top babyfaces was Tracy Smothers. He had passed away on October 28.

I was always going to repost this blog at some point, but with his passing, I am conflicted if I should address this article now. The reason why is because I have an opinion on Tracy as a person and even to a lesser degree mentor.

My personal experience with him were from five to nine years prior. That was definitely a time when I was not as sensitive to what the meaning of the flag. I first met him at AAW in 2006 when I was training there. In the end, I think he made two appearances for the Chicagoland promotion and the only problem people had with him was that he wanted to use the mic to get himself over and play his ECW hits (dancing and mocking yanks). These actions just made the show run long. Otherwise, he was great to have in the locker room.

In 2009, I partook in a training session he hosted before a Great American Wrestling show in Maroa that I was conned into attending. It was Gavin Alexander, a backyarder from Decatur who was crashing wherever he could, who talked me into going to a show I was not booked on after working for them the prior month. Needless to say, this meant I was just hanging out (when I was not driving him to say hi to his Soy City pals), but for $20, I jumped at the opportunity to learn from him ($10 for the training, I decided to try to win favor by giving the promoters the means to purchase a folding chair to use.).

It ended up being a great experience for me because Smothers appreciated the fact that I could work and that I just wanted to better myself despite the bullshit that led me there. He was very accessible in terms of talking shop and very respectable. That is more than I can say for everyone else who gets ripped in the post below. Joey Grunge, MIPW's owner/promoter straight up said I was nothing more than a mark (the man who was emulating an over tag team gimmick 15 years removed), so that kindness shown by Smothers will be forever appreciated.

Would I have gotten that respect if from him if I was not complicit to allowing his gimmick? I believe I would. Tracy Smothers was a man who treated everyone with respect directly. He was blind to how offensive his actions and gimmick were, but he wanted everyone to thrive and have fun. I think Tracy would want to be known as a good man and that is it. However you reacted, as long as it enriched the show to the audience, he did his job. If you would not accept the man he was, that was your problem, not his.

In the end, I wish he was a little more considerate about the world around him. After the last four years, that is what we need. It takes a few extra moments, but more people will appreciate you for not being insensitive than by having a Trump supporter attitude.

This might have been a hedgehog dilemma. He was scared or ignorant to the concerns of people. Smothers would give you the shirt off his back if you asked. You just had to want to give him that chance. If you did not take that up with him because of politics and his gimmick, you are missing out.

Racism Can Play in Peoria. What About Your Local Wrestling?

I did not think the most challenging thing about this blog would be coming up with the most appropriate derogatory term to describe a white American.***

White trash pretty much covers every Caucasian who displays pride in the immoral elements of their nature. Since this is a wrestling blog, it seems to be the misconception placed on the majority of American fans (and because this blog discusses one of the best-known test markets in this country, Peoria, it may end up being a fairly accurate term). But with the issue being about the misplaced Southern pride, redneck is probably the best term when I posed the initial question (my only issue with the term is that having a sun-burnt neck from exerting themselves farming is not a shameful thing...at least till the invention of sun screen...).

Which sport is more redneck, NASCAR or wrestling? NASCAR is a sport-based in the South and founded by bootleggers while every region had its own style of wrestling at sometime. This may have already answered the question, but lets make sure I solidify the concept that wrestling is seemingly more prudish.

I am certain wrestling historians can come up with times where money-making promotions north of the Mason Dixon line celebrated Southern rebels and their flag, but I cannot recall the paramount promotion of the region (and eventually world) under its current ownership bringing anyone in with that as their gimmick. Big Boss Man's state flag happened to feature the Stars and Bars and The Fabulous Freebirds' Giant shortened stint* are the only occurrences I remember (35 years old) the Confederate Flag made it to the USA Network and Madison Square Garden. The opening scene from "Highlander" does not count.

Did Jamie Noble ever wear his "Dukes of Hazzard" trunks in WWE? If so, was it just cross promotion with The Broken Lizard film of the same name?** To them Duke boys' credit, they were inclusive of an Indian-American director. And to TV Land's credit, yanking dem boys may allow us to forget that movie as well.

If you take into account how The Monday Night Wars ended, one would wonder why anything as Southern as the battle flag of an army that fought for a racist government is a gimmick worth getting over. Eric Bischoff ridding WCW of its Southern taste allowed that promotion to at one point rule the wrestling world. The greatest star of the era was the Bionic Redneck "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, a redneck who never sported the garb of Michael "P.S" Hayes to tell the world he will not bow down to yuppie politics.

Wrestling is not necessarily a sport of higher class, but the competition between WWE and WCW made it into a form of entertainment that is easier for everyone to accept. It is a form of entertainment that does not have fans fighting to express divisive messages or banners, unlike NASCAR.

Thankfully, NASCAR is doing their best to get those fans to realize that inclusion is the only way to further the sport. Stock car racing at the highest level is bigger than wrestling, so imagine how popular it could be if it the American Swastika was not being waved, intimidating people certain people from making a weekend of their events. RV rentals would increase.

Perhaps making money is strictly a Northern value, hence the resistance of NASCAR's message board fans. They see making money as the only reason to ban hateful imagery, so oddly enough to them, waving the rebel flag shows that they have a greater value for the common people than money.

If this was science-fiction, they see themselves as the Brown Coats against the greedy Alliance from "Firefly" (and I've lost the rednecks reading this blog). Since Nathan Fillion was fighting along side the darker complexion of Gina Torres, rebellion and simpler values cannot be racist. If Captain Mal can wear his brown coat with pride, why can't people wear the Confederate Flag with pride?

That's because that side of the Civil War were the ones fighting to enslave people. It maybe more profitable to be politically correct, but that does not make it a bad thing.

It is possible that you are not racist if you support the public display of the Confederate Flag, but it shows you are comfortable with the values of the Confederate States of America. You can make the standard state rights argument was the cause of the Civil War. In eight grade (thanks Morton Jr. High), I was taught in eighth grade history that the war was about the need to keep the country together, so no state could secede. State rights allow South Carolina to fly the flag. Secession is always brought up as a course of action when the party the state voted for does not get the power in D.C. The only argument the Civil War settled was that you cannot own other people. That was settled when the general who flew the Stars and Bars surrendered to a lieutenant general of the country that abolished the concept his opposition's government stood for.

I maybe overthinking things as I finally get to the meat of my blog.**** It could be that the concept of what makes money is unimportant. This blog was inspired by small independent in Peoria, Illinois (my hometown and where I started wrestling before I found an established trainer in Davenport/Chicago), a town that never drew money. They may wrestle for the love of the sport, but it is not for the creativity this business allows to be expressed. If they are only going to draw their friends who are among the common people, it is easy just to rely on the common gimmick. It has always been that way for the locker room's true veteran, Tracy Smothers. I guess they fail to recognize the the most inclusive and over gimmick he had was the Full Blooded Italians.

My issues with Midwest Impact Pro Wrestling started over this tweet I posted:

Hashtag IWA-MeToo: 1st Match

Sometimes I feel satire is dead. I suppose the Internet is to blame. It is great that everybody is reading, but if you do not have the ability to comprehend, what is the point? November 8, 2016 is evidence of that.

I think back to my intro to literature class at Illinois Central College in 2007 when we were assigned to read “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift. My best friend and I were the only ones who spoke of thoroughly enjoying it. Everyone else in the room who had an opinion questioned how someone, an Irishman at that, would dare suggest the English eating the children of McImmigrants. That is Peoria for you, and sadly since it is the premier test market in the country, that is a reflection of the rest of the country, at least the cities and suburbs that lack major league sports franchises…and Indianapolis…Mike “Fucking” Pence.

I bring up the rest of the country because population density suggest that they do not truly have neighbors. They only have themselves to care for. So they lack any thought to being empathetic because everyone around them looks or acts just like them. If you cannot understand how other people feel, how are you going to comprehend a joke about how ridiculous one group of people were treating another? To them it is a tale of the evil British eating the white babies that we all identify as on March 17 instead of a statement about how people do not care for the marginalized.

It is these kind of people who are fine with a Tracy Smothers’s wrestling school, School of Smothers, using the Confederate battle flag as part of the logo. I have fought this battle before and was shat on for by the likes of Christian Rose for reminding Tracy he was a Full Blooded Italian. With the training center being in Lincoln, Illinois, a town named after the President who destroyed the identity of the Southern States, it is fair to mention him in a blog that is about excusing awful people or, at the very least, awful acts.

Without a college newspaper to write for, anything non-wrestling related that I have written, may have fallen on blind eyes. Hence, if you have not been keeping track of my blogs since November 2016, I have been trying to call for change to the misogynistic patriarchy, but with my long-winded nature, I was trying to be clever working through my observations while I was trying to come up with my satirical solutions. In the meantime, society listened to the right people and was allowed to catch up. Losing the race is the story of my life, thank the gods I just love to chase, fight and complete.

But, the United States of Whiskey City is my audience, and you cannot unfollow everyone who says hateful, uncaring or ignorant things, so you are going to find some stuff you must write about. Sadly, you have to state your opinion before you can give it a comedic spin.

The following is a Facebook post from John “Ian Rotten” Williams, best known for being the promoter of IWA Mid-South Wrestling, a promotion that never booked shows in Bill Watts’s Universal Wrestling Federation territory (Mid-South Wrestling). To say that he has not allowed for great things to occur in pro-wrestling would be a falsehood. The man had something in the early to mid 2000’s that allowed the best talent in the Midwest to make it to the damn near the top of the business. But if you watched how any of his shows were structured, saying that he was a man of great ideas would be an overstatement. To his credit, he will give anyone an opportunity, but that is also to his detriment as shown by the following statement.

So, I have a great idea. How about wrestling fans go back to being wrestling fans? Don’t worry about who is cheating on who’s wife, who’s got a criminal background, how about worrying about if the person entertains you and works hard? In my opinion, and my opinion alone, as good as social media is for the wrestling business it is double bad. It amazes me how nosy people are nowadays and how much they can’t stay out of other people’s business. People never assume that anyone is innocent, they’re always guilty. Buy a ticket, sit in a seat, enjoy the show. Lose yourself for a few hours. You will be better off.

What can I say accept the greatest two-pack in DVD history was “Bloodsport” and “Showdown in Little Tokyo?” No, I am not protecting a potential love interest or the principles of Bushido. It may actually be more along the lines of “see something, say something,” but if I do not try and get his followers or himself to think like a better person, what kind of person does that make me? You can say someone who is only doing this for ego, and I will counter with a need to be someone I can respect. The response(s) to the blog will determine the ego massage.

Wrestling fans going back to wrestling fans is a promoter asking them to be sheep. How many bad people have gotten to make a living because of their talent? How many good people are kept from getting opportunities because a promoter allows assholes to thrive?

A stance like this also displays a laziness if coming from a booker. Why book around an issue if you can find marks who will ignore the issue?

Social media may not make it fair for the accused, but with so many incidents that are based on the words of the victimized versus the words of one with power who can control the physical narrative, it has to be a place where people must take responsibility for their actions and let the chips fall where they may. 

You maybe forgiven, you may never work in this field again. All you can do is you build a catalog while you can. People will ask, “why is this guy gone,” when we can all look back with 20/20 vision and rewrite the narrative accordingly. 

If you are not placing yourself in positions where your integrity will be questioned in the first place, your social record should be clean any how would you not say?

There are things that are no ones business like infidelity and I’ll say substance issues. But we know there are things that cannot be ignored. Not asking questions about those topics (harassment and abuse towards others, hateful beliefs, willful ignorance) permits a worst environment for everyone.

It sucks being an underemployed website designer. Not because of the lack on additional income, just that I know when a webpage is too long (NBC, CNN, NYT take note). I have got more to say about this, and plenty of Facebook comments and replies to see. And I might have some insights on my own experiences in terms of the current movement. This maybe a series of blogs that I can tie back to my “Schrodinger’s Cat” series or my own personal Supercard of Dishonor. If the episodes get the attention of the local bookers, maybe it will be a guideline to how to run shows.

Now, I’m hopeful to get that booking to call it a 16-year career. A nihilist with hope, this blog has done something at least.